PARADISE — The Paradise Ridge Youth Soccer Club is renewing its search for its fields of dreams.

Club president Max Barteau said the organization has ended its efforts to buy a 9.5-acre parcel behind the Tall Pines Entertainment Center off Clark Road. He said the club sought an extension to complete its evaluation on the property, but the property’s owners wanted more money.

“Basically, they would not extend the escrow on terms that we thought were fair and equitable,” Barteau said.

While the door has closed on that parcel, the club is in negotiations to purchase another property nearby.

The original $800,000 deal, first announced in September, fell apart quickly. On March 13, Barteau joined discussions on how the property would tie into the Paradise Community Village’s adjacent campus of recreational, educational and residential facilities. During the village board’s meeting, he noted the property remained in escrow.

“I believed we would get an extension and we could move on and make this work,” Barteau said.

By the next day, the deal fell apart. Barteau gave the order to quit the purchase process after the club’s real estate agent told him about the sellers’ latest demands.

A representative from the Rocklin-based Granite Bay Loans & Investments could not be reached before deadline Tuesday night.

In addition to the escrow situation, Barteau noted there were other issues with the property. He noted the playable areas on the property would have been reduced by a septic agreement, a stream and uneven terrain.

“It was all adding up to a pretty rough situation,” Barteau said.

The club was aware of many of the issues coming in, but moved ahead because of the opportunity to work with the Paradise Community Village. The village is a consortium of seven community groups, including the club.

The soccer club’s quest for permanent fields continues as it prepares to launch a four-week Spring Jamboree at Butte College on Saturday. Without its own facilities, the club’s hundreds of soccer players use fields at the college as well as at the elementary and intermediate schools.

The club’s search has taken years. In 2002, the club purchased an 11.5-acre property on Clark Road south of Ace Hardware for $400,000. The club was forced to look elsewhere because there wasn’t an economical way to build fields.

The club is still working on a $1.3 million offer to sell the property that remains in escrow. Barteau said revenue will be used to help the club purchase another property.

The club’s efforts are focused on a property south of the Paradise Community Village.

Barteau said the club has made an offer to the property owners, but declined to discuss details because of ongoing negotiations.

He said the property is beautiful, very flat and adjacent to the village.

While the club continues negotiations, Barteau said he wants to keep people’s expectations realistic.

“I don’t want people getting their hopes up and having it fall flat,” he said.

The fate of the property behind the Tall Pines Entertainment Center remains uncertain. The Paradise Recreation and Park District board of directors was scheduled to hold a closed-session meeting to discuss the possible purchase of a property adjacent to the village, but the meeting was canceled.

Board Chairwoman Dianne Harmacek said the district is being asked to consider buying the land the soccer club passed on. The meeting was called off because the meeting announcement didn’t include enough information.

Harmacek is looking forward to the meeting to discuss the property. The board has looked at the district’s participation in the Paradise Community Village as it tackles other priorities, including renovating the Terry Ashe Recreation Center and planning a park for Magalia.

“We’ve got to really buckle down and make a decision,” Harmacek said.

Barteau, a member of the community village’s board, said he didn’t know about the park district’s possible purchase.

Staff writer Ryan Olson can be reached at 896-7763 or rolson@chicoer.com.

On the Internet:

Paradise Ridge Youth Soccer Club,

http://www.paradisesoccer.com

BACKGROUND: The Paradise Ridge Youth Soccer Club has been searching for a site for permanent fields for years. The group purchased a Clark Road property in 2002, but faced challenges building fields. The group kept searching and made an offer in September to purchase a 9.5-acre property behind the Tall Pines Entertainment Center off Clark Road.

WHAT’S NEW: On March 14, the soccer club ended its efforts to buy the property. Club President Max Barteau said issues included the property owners wanting more money before extending the closing process.

WHAT’S NEXT: The club has made an offer on a property south of the community village property, but Barteau said the